Shattered Silence

DAPHNE

The food on my plate had long gone cold, but I kept poking at it just to look busy. The silence in the room pressed down on my chest like a weight. All I could hear was the sound of forks scratching plates, the low hum of the TV in the background, and the awkward tension that filled the space between me, Mum, and Dad. We hadn’t had a proper conversation all evening, just small talk. Empty q